Hasta La Gadget!

You probably already know this by now, but there are a lot of people using Twitter. A new study conducted by Beevolve gives us an insane amount of statistics on these users, gauging everything from how many followers the average user has to which background color is used the most by females and males. The study – which surveyed a total of 36 million Twitter profiles – may confirm a lot of the stuff you already assumed about Twitter, but there are some surprises to be found in the results.

For instance, you might assume that more Twitter users are female, and you’d be right. Beevolve’s study, which has been aptly titled “An Exhaustive Study of Twitter Users Across the World,” says that 53% of Twitter users are female, with 47% of users male. Were you thinking that the majority of Twitter users were teenagers or young adults? You’d be right there too, with Beevolve’s study finding that 73.7% of Twitter users are aged 15 to 25. However, it’s also worth pointing out that only 0.45% of Twitter users disclose their age.

How about this one: when it comes to background color preference, which color to do you think females prefer most? If you said pink, you’re wrong, and shame on you for falling back on gender stereotypes. It’s actually purple (Eminence if we’re being specific), while males prefer darker tones, with steel grey taking the lead by a pretty large margin. Beevolve found that the majority of Twitter users have less than 50 followers, just as the majority are following less than 50 people.

Females seem to be a bit more active on Twitter than males are, with the study claiming that males have tweeted an average of 567 times, while females have tweeted an average of 610 times. “Love” is the most popular word used in Twitter bios, and Family is easily the most popular subject for users aged 15 to 65. There’s a lot more to Beevolve’s survey than what we’ve talked about here, so be sure to check the full survey out for even more ridiculous statistics. Just be careful – when it calls this an “expansive” study, it isn’t kidding, and you may just get lost in the absurd amount of information the survey provides.

New Twitter study gives tons of stats on users is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

According to a survey conducted by Interbrands to determine the best global brands of 2012, Apple came in second on the list of the best global brands with an estimated brand value of $76.5 billion. The company moved up five spots since last year’s results when they placed seventh on the list in 2011.

Coca-Cola won out the top spot with a brand value of $77.8 billion. Apple beat out other huge international corporations like McDonald’s, IBM, Google, Microsoft, Intel, and even Samsung. Also, in 2009, Apple was down in 20th place on the list, so in a matter of just three years, the company moved all the way up to a very respectable 2nd place.

That achievement gives Apple the “top riser” moniker by Interbrand. Plus, with only a small gap between Apple and Coca-Cola, it could be as soon as next year when we see Apple take the top spot. You can view the full top-ten list below, with each company’s estimated brand value posted next to the respective company.

1. Coca-Cola — $77.8 billion
2. Apple — $76.5 billion
3. IBM — $75.5 billion
4. Google — $69.7 billion
5. Microsoft — $57.8 billion
6. General Electric — $43.6 billion
7. McDonald’s — $40 billion
8. Intel — $39.3 billion
9. Samsung — $32.8 billion
10. Toyota — $30.2 billion

It’s a little bit of a surprise to see Samsung only at number nine on the list. They’ve arguably been dominating the Android smartphone market with their Galaxy S III, Galaxy Nexus and the Galaxy Note series. It’s easily possible that by next year, they’ll jump up a few spots and sneak their way into the top 5 alongside Microsoft or even Google.

[via TUAW]

Apple climbs to second place in best global brand survey is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Most of us (hopefully) know that our smartphones aren’t just snazzy glass, aluminum, and plastic, and that there are actually some hazardous materials lurking on the inside. The components of most smartphones are made using nasty stuff like PVC, mercury, tin, flame retardants, and lead, and though those chemicals and metals don’t pose much of threat to you while they’re all locked up inside your device, they could potentially contaminate the air and water if smartphones aren’t disposed of properly.

That’s the problem, too: for the most part, consumers typically don’t recycle their smartphones like they should, which could lead to environmental issues that no one wants to deal with. There is a glimmer of hope, however, as a new iFixit and HealthyStuff.org study has found that present-day smartphones contain fewer toxic chemicals than smartphones of the past. iFixit and HealthyStuff tore apart 36 different new and old smartphones for this test, including the iPhone 5. Once they had a look around to determine the amount the toxic chemicals present in each phone, each device was rated on a scale of 0 to 5, with 0 being the best possible score and 5 being the worst.

Of the devices tested, six were given a ranking of “low concern,” including the iPhone 5, the Motorola Citrus, and the Samsung Evergreen. 24 of the device were labeled as “medium concern,” including the Samsung Galaxy S III, the Motorola DROID X, and the BlackBerry Bold 9000, while the remaining six were grouped into the “high concern,” category. Phones that were given a high concern ranking include the Nokia N95, the iPhone 2G, and the BlackBerry Storm 9530.

So, while there are still some pretty dangerous phones floating around out there, manufacturers are getting better at making their handsets more environmentally friendly. Apple in particular is showing great improvement with this test – while the second generation iPhone was given the worst possible score, both the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5 were placed among the six best-rated handsets. iFixit and HealthyStuff warn that there is still progress to make, and even though the overall trend shows a reduction in these dangerous chemicals, “‘better’ is not ‘perfect.’” Let’s just hope that manufacturers keep it up and make handsets that are even more safe in the future.

Present-day smartphones have fewer toxic chemicals, study finds is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Developments in CGI and animatronics might be getting alarmingly realistic, but the audio that goes with it often still relies on manual recordings. A pair of associate professors and a graduate student from Cornell University, however, have developed a method for synthesizing the sound of moving fabrics — such as rustling clothes — for use in animations, and thus, potentially film. The process, presented at SIGGRAPH, but reported to the public today, involves looking into two components of the natural sound of fabric, cloth moving on cloth, and crumpling. After creating a model for the energy and pattern of these two aspects, an approximation of the sound can be created, which acts as a kind of “road map” for the final audio.

The end result is created by breaking the map down into much smaller fragments, which are then matched against a database of similar sections of real field-recorded audio. They even included binaural recordings to give a first-person perspective for headphone wearers. The process is still overseen by a human sound engineer, who selects the appropriate type of fabric and oversees the way that sounds are matched, meaning it’s not quite ready for prime time. Understandable really, as this is still a proof of concept, with real-time operations and other improvements penciled in for future iterations. What does a virtual sheet being pulled over an imaginary sofa sound like? Head past the break to hear it in action, along with a presentation of the process.

Continue reading Fabricated: Scientists develop method to synthesize the sound of clothing for animations (video)

Filed under: Science, Alt

Fabricated: Scientists develop method to synthesize the sound of clothing for animations (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 23:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PhysOrg  |  Cornell Chronical  | Email this | Comments

If you’ve ever wondered just how popular the free-to-play model has become, new data from Ipsos Media CT and ISFE has suggested that free-to-play games have accounted for half of the European games market in the last 12 months, a pretty impressive figure we have to admit! According to their definition of half the market, it means that free-to-play games accounted for 50% of titles acquired during that 12 month period.

For those unfamiliar with the free-to-play model, it’s basically where the game itself is offered for free. Instead the developer makes money by charging gamers for micro-transactions that are either purely cosmetic or are needed if gamers want to advance to the next level. Personally I’d rather buy a game right off than having to pay for micro-transactions, but as we can see if this data, not everyone feels the same way. What about you guys? Do you prefer the free-to-play model or would you rather just pay a one-off fee?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Star Wars: The Old Republic adds free-to-play option, iPhone 4S Sales to Decline until the next iPhone Arrives,